WAMA News

Association News Posts

Walla Walla Tour

If you have already RSVP’d to Kelly re taking the Walla Walla Tour on June 2nd, please remember that bus transportation is scheduled to depart from the Marcus Whitman at 3pm on Sunday. NOTE: The Tour had a huge response and is now full!

Take a look at our 2019 Conference Agenda that our hard working and very creative Conference Committee has put together for our 2019 WAMA Conference, June 3-5, 2019 at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla, WA. The Conference Committee has included several additional activities you might consider that are available in the Walla Walla area.

As Chairman of the WAMA Legislative Committee, I want to take a moment and thank everyone for their hard work during the 2019 legislative session. Although many of our priority bills did not make it out of their respective committees, it’s important to note a few were listed as “Necessary To Implement the Budget (NTIB)”. On April 28, 2019, the legislature adopted the 2019-20 budget, forwarded to the Governor for signature, that included the proviso language with relation to our bills.

Below, please find a memorandum (PDF) as well as the list of bills (immediately below) that were successful and are on Governor Inslee’s desk for signature.

Golf Traveling Trophy Contest – Congrats to Port of Benton and Pullman-Moscow as past winners. Who’s up for the challenge this year?

Golf – We are having a shorter 9 hole golf scramble. Each team will be assigned to an Airport Sponsor for the Traveling Trophy competition. This is pretty casual and a lot of fun. There will be tee box sponsorships with contests and prizes as well.

Golf Tee Box Sponsorships ($100) – Sponsors have the opportunity to interact with the golfers at each tee box passing out Sponsor marketing items and perhaps with a contest and prizes as well. We have 7 tee boxes still available. To sign up as a Golf Tee Box Sponsor, go here and add it to your registration. If you have already registered, please use option (C) Other/Addition to a previous registration.

Bruce Brown is part of a consulting team that is assessing the economic impacts of aviation in Washington state for the Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation Division. The study is designed to quantify aviation’s economic impact in the state and understand the unique and diverse ways airports support communities throughout Washington.

They need to have most of the surveys completed by the end of March 2019, so please set aside a minute to fill out the survey within the next week or so.

Bruce Brown thanks you in advance for your assistance with this important study. Please do not hesitate to contact him bbrown@prrbiz.comif you have any questions or concerns. You may also contact Rob Hodgman, WSDOT Aviation Division Project Manager, at (360) 596-8910 o hodgmar@wsdot.wa.gov. For survey details click here.

Warren Hendrickson has compiled an informal list of Washington State/PNW Airport Restaurant List (updated 2019) which now includes additional pages for nearby Oregon airports (both east and west of the Cascades) and nearby Idaho airports. This list is not complete and we ask that if you have suggestions or recommendations for restaurants at or serving your airport, please feel free to provide Warren with your additional information. You may send your suggestions/ recommendations to Warren Hendrickson, at: wbhendrickson@comcast.net . He will continue to update the list. The list is primarily intended for use by pilots as they fly around the area. Perhaps providing everyone with an additional reason to visit your airport!

The Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation Division initiated an update to the Washington Aviation Economic Impact Study (AEIS) starting in October.

This study, last updated in 2012, provides critical information on the value of our state's aviation system. It will calculate and document the economic contributions airports make to local communities, regions, and the state. Analyses will identify off-airport businesses and industries who use and depend on the airports. It is widely used throughout the state to communicate aviation's benefits for citizens of Washington state.

Each public-use airport in the state will receive the results to share with their stakeholders about the airport's value and contributions to the community.

The consultant team consists of Kimley-Horn, Economic Development Research (EDR) Group, WSP USA, and PRR. All have reached out to airports to request information to facilitate the economic impact analyses.

The work involved to complete the study finalizes in February 2020. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funded this study with a grant, with some supporting funds from WSDOT.

As of April 1st, the new phone number for the FAA 24/7 accident hotline will be 206-231-2099. The number for the media and public to call will be 206-231-2089. The numbers are changing because they are moving to the new FAA building. The previous number of 425-227-1999 will remain active with a message instructing callers to call the new number.